Tales of Eldor - The Warden

Chapter XII - The Wolf

Its eyes turn red, red like the blood that has been spilled. Its claws dark and sharp like the fur covering its hard skin. Fangs glistening in the dim light of the moon. It howls again and falls down on all four legs growling at the man atop the wall. "Valiant Hold! Protect your warden!" Gwen commands while sheeting her sword and picking up a bow from a fallen ranger. The wolf springs forward and leaps over the soldiers in front of it. The terror in their expressions making way for cheers as it start mauling the dead as if they where mere toys. Its speed, its strength. All superior to anything else on the field of battle. The dead are begin torn and ripped by the dozens while Galmeth looks petrified atop the wall.

"You! ... No! I wont let you!" He mutters before an arrow shoots and inch away his head. Making him take a few steps back and fear starts taking hold. Memories of that day on the outskirts of the Silver forest start returning ever so vividly. "More! More dead! Kill them! Kill the beast!"
Even more undead foes come flooding into Valiant hold, trampling each other to get a piece of flesh. Their numbers increasing and outnumbering any army in Eldor by far. The meager force of the living still holding and under Gwen's lead even pushing the line forward against overwhelming odds. The wolf in front of them remains equally unfazed by the flow of corpses and relishes in its freedom.

Jess rides at the head of the caravan a good way from Valiant Hold by now. Lelah still by her side and Harleen sleeping on her arm. Suddenly she halts turning her head towards the path already traveled. She motions shadow to the side and pauses as the caravan passes them by. Lelah upon noticing her friends absence makes her way towards her. "Jessalie? What is the mather?"

"My husband ... he took it off. I can't believe he took it off ... he is not coming back."

"What do you mean? What did he take off? How do you know?"

"He's a turnskin. You know those? Giant beasts that slumber in the Silver forest?"

"We have heard rumors about them yes. We thought them nothing more then tall tales honestly."

"He ... he has a necklace I gave him years ago to keep him ... human. Now he took it off. I felt it. I felt its energy subsiding. Without it he, he loses control and ... the battle must be lost for him to ... I can't." Her face turning from sad to stern and determined. "Lelah. Please take Harleen with you to Rise! I ... I must go back and try to..."

Lelah cuts her off by picking Harleen up from her arms. "Go! Save your man. You daughter is safe."

Jess throws a quick nod before kicking the old monstrous horse into motion. He rides as if the Elders itself commanded him. Its age hardly noticeable as both ride to save Marius once again. Leafs and branches hitting them left and right but nothing can stop their determination.

Meanwhile the never ending flow of dead is taking its toll on the soldiers in Valiant Hold. More and more fall and the back line starts to thin. The beast on the other hand looks almost like its enjoying itself in the sea of dead it creates around itself. "Captain? We ... we need to fall back." A private says while approaching Gwen.

"You want to abandon your warden soldier?"

"No ... no ma'm! But we can not hold any longer! The line is breaking."

"We don't let it!"

Racnor yells something in his own language and his troops start to move backwards, enraging Gwen even more. "What the fuck are you doing!?"
She shouts while running at the Orc leader who towers head and toe above her.

"We lost ... men die for nothing ... caravan away by now."

"But the warden is still ..."

"Warden brave ka'than. He make retreat possible now."